Car-coupling



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet L J. H. BROWN.

GAR GOUPLING.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. H. BRGWN. r

GAR GOUPLING.4

No. 491,467. VPmntd 1161).?, 1893.

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JAMES HOYT BROWN, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 491,467, dated February'7, 1893.

lipplication filed May 12. 1892. Serial No. 432.768. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES HoYT BROWN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of Colorado,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplings; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates, generally, to car couplings and particularly tothat class of automatic car coupling devices generally known as theJanney or Master Car Builders type in which two knuckles pivotallymountedin opposing draw-heads are adapted, when brought together, tointerlock, said draw-heads being provided with locking latches to retainthe knuckles in their interlocking position, thus forming the coupling;and it has for its object to provide a simple locking device for suchcouplings whichacts asabuffer fortheknuckle thus reducing the jar toboth cars and couplers and is adapted, when occasion arises, to be usedas a coupling link for link and pin coupling, and with these ends inview my invention consists, first, in providing a longitudinallyarranged locking bar normally held by a spring directly in the path ofmovement of the tail piece of the knuckle and to yieldingly receive theblow from the same when in the act of making a coupling; secondly, inproviding a longitudinally yielding locking bar adapted to be raised atone end-out of the path of the knuckle tail piece; thirdly, in providinga locking bar of such peculiar construction as to adapt it for use as alink in forming a link and pin coupling; and fourthly, in other detailsof construction and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter fullydescribed and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification-Figurelisa horizontal longitudinal sectional view through my improvedcoupling; Fig. 2 a longitudinal vertical sectional View on the line m-QaFig. l, showing the locking bar in its raised position; Fig. 3 ahorizontal longitudinal sectional View showing the locking bar inposition to act as a coupling link; Fig. 4 a detail perspective View ofthe uncoupling pin; Fig. 5 a detail perspective view of the knuckle; andFig. 6 a perspective view showing the coupling adapted for link and pincoupling.

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings A represents the draw-bar and B the draw-headof a car coupling of the Janney type in which aknnckle C is pivotallymounted so as to swing or turn in a horizontal plane. The knuckle isformed or cast with a recess a to receive the end of a coupling link andwith a perforation b intersecting the recess to receive the pin forsecuring the link in the recess when occasion requires. The tail piece cof the knuckle is formed with the shoulders CZ to engage the shoulders cformed in the draw-head and partly surrounding the pivot pin crboltopening therein and said tail piece is reduced at f in order to permitthe same to pass freely under the end of the locking bar D whenuncoupling, as will be hereinafter explained, and the front or outeredge of the tail piece is formed with shoulders g, g and h adjacent eachother, the latter two being for the purpose of enabling a coupling to bemade on a curve, as will also be explained hereinafter.

The draw-barA is cast hollow and is formed with a perforation i at itsrear end to receive a rivet or boltj, to secure the draft spindle 7csecurely thereto, as shown, and against the head of the draft spindleone end of a spiral spring E rests, the other end of said springextending forward in the draw-bar and resting against the rear end ofthe locking bar or latch D, said bar, normally, extending forward to theedge of the mouth of the draw-head as shown in Fig. l.

The rear end of the locking bar or latch D is bent or curved upward, asat Z, and is formed with an opening or perforation lmJ and said bar atits front or head end is slightly rounded or curved, as at n, and alateral shoulder o formed thereon which is adapted to engage a verticalshoulder p formed in the draw-head to limit the backward thrust of thelocking bar or latch and thus relieve the pin G from the shock incidentto the concussion between the knuckles in coupling. An oblong slot r isformed through the head end of thel locking bar through which is passedthe pin G the lower end of said pin being en larged to form theshoulders s which engage the lower side of the locking bar at the edgeof the slot r so as to raise the end of said bar when the pin is raisedin uncoupling.

The pin G is passed upwardly or from beneath the draw-head through anopening in the lower wall thereof of sufficient size to permit thepassage of the enlarged end of the pin, and through the slot rof thelocking bar and its upper end extends through an opening in the upperwall of the draw-head. The pin is formed with an opening to receive theend of the chain connected to the uncoupling lever usually attached tothe car in order to raise the pin and, through its shoulders s, the headend of the locking bar is raised out of the path of the tail piece ofthe knuckle so that the same may be released and rendered free to beswung outwardly. The bar rises freely and easily owing to the curvedshape given its end, and as the height to which it must be raised toclear or release the tail piece is not great owing to the end ot' saidtail piece being reduced, as described above, no additional enlargementor increase of the diameter of the interior ot the draw-head isnecessary in carrying out my invention.

It will be observed that when the locking bar is in the position shownin Fig. l and the knuckle is open or swung out as indicated by dottedlines in said figure that upon the approach of a mating coupler theknuckles of the respective couplers will enter between the guiding jawof the opposing draw-head and its knuckle and coming in contact with theopposing tail piece will cause the latter to strike against the head endof the locking bar and push or force the same back into the draw-baragainst the forward pressure of the spring E, until the tail pieces intheir movement pass the end of t-he locking bar when the spring at onceacts to force the locking bar forward into its normal position and inthe path of the tail piece thus locking the latter securely in place andcompleting the coupling, the forward movement of the bar being limitedby the length of its slot r the end of which coming in contact with thepin G arresting the throw of the bar. As the bar D has a bearing againstthe side wall of the draw-head and the tail piece is adapted to fitwithin the draw-head recess or opening snugly it will be seen that butlittle if any space is left for the play of the parts after the couplingis once fully made, thus obviating to a great extent the danger of theknuckle or its tail piece orthe locking bar being broken by a suddenjerk on the coupling as frequently occurs in starting and stopping atrain of cars. VIf the coupling is made on a curve the locking bar willnot be fully driven back but only so far, according to the degree of theI curve, as to engage cit-her the shoulder g or h and the completion ofthe coupling will be made when the cars leave the curve and move onto astraight track.

In Fig. 3 I show my improved locking bar D in position for use as acoupling link in the event of the breaking oft of the guiding jaw of thedraw-head, as at u, or the breaking of the draw-head at the point wherethe knuckle is pivoted to the draw-head, as at fu, or of such damage toeither the draw-head or knuckle as to render either of them inoperativeto form a coupling with a mating coupler of a similar type. isrepresented as projecting forwardly beyond the draw-head with its rearend secured by means of the pin G which passes through the perforation mof said bar, thus enabling a coupling to be made with the ordinary linkand pin coupler or any coupler capable of coupling with the link and pintype of coupling by simply inserting the head end of the bar into thebull nose or the recess for the reception of a link and dropping a pintherethrough and through the slot r ot' the bar.

Owing to the arrangement of the locking bar loosely or freely within thedraw-bar and rendering the same capable of longitudinal movement thereinthere is no liability of its becoming broken or damaged when struck bythe tail piece of the knuckle as it will yield to the blow and be forcedback until the tail piece passes it and permits of its immediate returnin front of the tail piece to lock the latter in place. In uncouplingthe pin G is raised, carrying with it the head end oi the locking baruntil the latteris raised above the tail piece thus releasing the latterand permitting it to be swung out, when the release of the pin G willpermit the locking bar to drop down again in readiness to form acoupling.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an automatic car coupling, the combination, with a hollowdraw-bar, of a locking bar arranged longitudinally in said draw-bar andadapted to form a link to couple with a link and pin coupling,substantially as de-` scribed.

2. In an automatic car coupling, the combination, with a hollowdraw-bar, of a locking bar loosely arranged longitudinally in saiddraw-bar and adapted to form a link to couple with a link and pincoupling, and means for securing the rear end of said bar to thedrawbar, substantially as described.

3. In an automatic car coupling, the combination, with a hollowdraw-bar, and a swinging knuckle, of a bar arranged longitudinallyin'said draw-bar and adapted to have a vertical movement at its outerend and to be bodily moved lon gitudinallyin said draw-bar, and a pinfor securing said bar in the drawbar and for raising one end thereof,whereby said bar is adapted to form a lock for the knuckle and to form alink for alink and pin coupling, substantially as described.

4. In an automatic car coupler, the combination of a hollow draw-bar,and a swinging In this iigure the locking bar ITO knuckle, of a lockingbar longitudinally arranged within said draw-bar, a spiral spring fornormally forcing said locking bar forward, and means connected to theuncoupling lever for raising or lifting one end of said locking bar,substantially as described.

5. In an automatic car coupling, the combination, with a hollowdraw-bar, and a swinging knuckle having a tail piece formed withshoulders on its front edge, of a locking bar arranged longitudinally insaid draw-bar and formed with an elongated slot at its forward end, aspring adapted to force said bar outwardly, and a pin having shoulderson its lower end for raising or lifting one end of said locking bar,substantially as described.

